Saturday, August 1, 2015

More Sharing Economy… Driving Uber vs Lyft in DC

LYFT COUPON CODE:                VIRGINIA147995
Good for a free ride for new Lyft passengers, or $750 sign-on bonus for new Lyft drivers

UBER COUPON CODE:                   KKE8S 
Good for a free ride for new Uber passengers, or $500 sign-on bonus for new drivers who are already Lyft drivers/other sign-on bonuses vary by city




So, after applying for Uber a month ago and going through the background check twice (they forgot to check my old out of state license, so it looked like I had only been driving a car for a few months and Uber initially denied my application), I was finally hired this week.

Here’s how driving for Uber vs Lyft compares down here.  Below info is based on driving between 5am-2am, 7 days a week, in Downtown, NOMA, Foggy Bottom, Cathedral Heights ,around Howard U, Arlington, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, College Park, and Silver Springs

Lyft                                                                                                                            Uber                                                                                   
Base fares are maybe 3-5% higher than Uber                                   Base fare 3-5% lower than Lyft
Tips average 8-10% on top of fare                                                    Uber discourages tipping
Average drive time to rider is 4-10 min                                       Average drive time to rider is 2-6 min
Occasionally there are 25% surges.  Higher surges are rare.              Very common surges 20%-290%
Surges have a tendency to end before you can move into an area.     Surges tend to last long enough                                                                                                                                                 to reach
There aren’t a whole lot of predictable, every day surges.         Uber DC surges 1/3 to ½ the day,                                                                                                          often at rush hour, during rain and events
Average wait time between rides is 5-10 min                      Average wait time between rides 0.5-4 min
Riders are often friendly and chatty                                         Riders more likely to play/talk on cell
Current sign on bonus is $750                                                  Sign on bonus for Lyft drivers is $500
$1500/wk guaranteed for 1st 4 weeks if drive 50hrs                          No current earnings guarantees
10-20% weekly bonus available, but it is a pain in the butt to get      No weekly bonuses currently

So, the long and short of it is that its very worth it to sign up for both Lyft and Uber for the signup bonuses.  After that, expect to make roughly $10-$25/hr before income tax. 
Now that I have Uber I almost never turn the Lyft app on.  It is better to immediately get an Uber fare, than to wait for a Lyft fare, and then drive a longer distance to pick them up.  For rideshare drivers, bigger is better.  Lyft does do a 20% bonus, but to get it, you have to take almost every request (even if it means driving, unpaid, 25min to get to the request), and you need to be driving for Lyft during all those peak hours when Uber is surging to 50-250%.. not worth it at the moment.  Another thing I’ve noticed about Lyft is that about 20% of my requests get cancelled after I’ve driven towards them for a couple minutes…. Then I don’t get paid.  On the other hand, Uber has given an inaccurate location on about 30% of my fares so far, resulting in wasted time, unpaid driving, and aggravation for everyone involved.
One thing Lyft is nice for is slow times during midday… running both apps at once increases chances of getting a fare without a long wait time.
Lyft and Uber have been a great gig so far… giving me the ability to earn a comfortable income, but still travel or take an hour or a day off, at any moment that I wish.
Yea sharing economy!



LYFT COUPON CODE:                VIRGINIA147995
Good for a free ride for new Lyft passengers, or $750 sign-on bonus for new Lyft drivers

UBER COUPON CODE:                   KKE8S
Good for a free ride for new Uber passengers, or $500 sign-on bonus for new drivers who are already Lyft drivers/other sign-on bonuses vary by city

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